the 12 days of pancakes

All about pancakes, well at least all about the Narraway 12 Days of Pancakes. I’ll answer a few questions some of you have asked me this go around. Then I shared all 12 days in one post including links to recipes. Last there is a poll where I want to hear from you on your favorites, don’t forget to scroll all the way down for that!

First, your questions:

#1- Why the 12 days of Pancakes?
That is a fair question. I’m going to cheat here as I wrote a post in 2017 you an read all about that. So click here for that answer: For the Joy of Pancakes

#2- Why doesn’t the 12 Days of Pancakes line up with the 12 days of Christmas (or something)?
First of all (shocker) I’m not even sure when the 12 days of Christmas is supposed to be… But the reason for when we run our 12 days has usually been scheduled around when the kids are on break from school. Day 1 often coincides with their last day of school/first day of break so that the 12th day of pancakes happens on the last day of break or the first day back. (Just looked it up- the 12 days of Christmas runs from Christmas Day through Epiphany, which I did know/should have known.)

#3- Are your kids excited for pancakes?/What are their favorites.
Excited? Yes… and no. We do have 8 kids so there are a variety of responses. This year, on day 11, Avari asked me, “Mom, when are we going to have normal pancakes?” So there is that. As for favorites… they like cute things, so the penguins were a hit this year. But I think a lot depends on whether we are rushed to eat or how much we’ve already had to eat that day. It isn’t always the sugary pancakes that get a thumbs up either, as the Savory Bacon, Cheddar, Green Onion pancakes made the favorites list.

#4- Do you get paid for doing this?
No. Two years ago (or so) I tried to get Betty Crocker to sponsor me and give me some pancake mix. Nope. They said they don’t do that. And I don’t do any of this to get paid so I think that was good that they said no because it keeps this all about the fun/family/exploration of new recipes.

#5- Are you going to do the 12 days of Pancakes again?
I don’t know. Trying to coordinate making pancakes while traveling for Christmas (for the last 2 years) has been less enjoyable in some ways. From remembering to bring ingredients/tools to dealing with the quirks of using different people’s stoves… it sure brought challenges. On the plus side, I was able to share the fun with more people and that is what it should be all about.

Enough with the questions and on to the pictures/recipes/tips and tricks…

12 Days of Pancakes 2018

Day 1: Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes
Calah and Avari helped me make these cute and tasty pancakes. People debate if pineapple belongs on pizza and here we started the 12 Days of Pancakes seeing if they belong in pancakes! Funny thing is, I’ve never made a pineapple upside down cake and can’t even remember the last time I ate one. These were recommended to me and the picture for the recipe caught my eye! These are pretty simple to make and I think they had nice flavor. I was concerned the pineapple would make them burn easily but using medium heat, I think they cooked quite well. The key was to adequately brown both sides of the pineapple before putting the batter on top. Even the maraschino cherries cooked well so the flavors mixed nicely! I debated using a thicker batter for these but keeping it slightly more on the thin side allowed the pancaked to cook thoroughly without burning.
Here is the recipe I used:https://tasty.co/recipe/pineapple-upside-down-pancakes

Day 2: Do you want to build a Snowman Pancakes?
The second day of pancakes brought a unique challenge: I was making pancakes for about 20 people. We woke up in the morning to a fresh coating of snow and Josh said they were “Do you want to build a snowman?” pancakes. I thought that was perfect! I like a good theme pancake. These are quite simple: Choose your favorite regular pancake recipe, add on some powdered sugar, chocolate chips, small candies and bacon for a scarf for decoration… then you have yourself a fun, themed pancake. Just a note, powdered sugar soaks into pancakes quite quickly when they are warm and fresh, so don’t expect your pancakes to stay so nice and white. The ones pictured above had cooled for a while before I decorated them.

Day 3: Fluffy Pancakes
This recipe was suggested by MANY people. In 2017 I made Japanese Fluffy Pancakes. They were fun to learn to make and looked amazing when done. BUT they took a long time, a baking tool that most people probably don’t own and a lot of patience. This recipe is simple and uses pans likely in your kitchen BUT you definitely need patience. Rushing these will just get you burned. Literally I burned a pancake and my arm, no fault of the recipe just trying to rush get out the door for the children’s Christmas Program at church. Anyway, back to the pancakes… they were very tasty. I prefer the look of the Japanese Fluffy pancakes from last year but these fluffy pancakes required less technique. I didn’t have lids that matched my skillets but used glass lids for casserole dishes and even though they were a tiny bit too big for one pan and a little to small for the other, it all still worked out well.
Here is the recipe: I followed but I read the comments and therefore reduced the egg whites to 3 and the egg yolks to 2 while adding in a little sugar and powdered sugar.https://tasty.co/recipe/fluffy-perfect-pancakes

Day 4: Oreo Pancakes
I think the Oreo pancakes were my favorite for three reasons: 1- They tasted amazing! 2- The picture turned out so perfect. 3-We shared them with friends. These tasty cookies and cream pancakes have a chocolate pancake with a creamy filling. Oreos make everything better with cookie crumbles in the batter, cream filling, and sprinkled on top. Add some chocolate syrup and these were really good! Sharing pancakes and time with friends made for a great Christmas Eve afternoon! Sometimes adding sugary ingredients makes the batter finicky and prone to burning but that was NOT the case with this recipe. From start to finish, this was a recipe I HIGHLY recommend you try!
Here is the Oreo Pancake recipe:https://grandbaby-cakes.com/oreo-pancakes/

Day 5: Penguin Pancakes
My go-to pancake for Christmas’ past was an oven-baked recipe. I’ve done a German pancake and a Blueberry Oven Baked in the past. Why? Because the prep was super convenient while still resulting in a tasty pancake. This year I wanted to try something a little different. When I saw these cuties, I knew they would be perfect. With only a picture on pinterest I had to figure out what I would do to recreate the look.These chubby little penguin pancakes were made with a basic pancake mix. Then using Nutella, powdered sugar, whipped topping, strawberries and sprinkles… we turned them into little Santa themed penguin pancakes for Christmas. I made a “stencil” of sorts to keep the Nutella and powdered sugar where they belonged. Sliced strawberries and homemade whipped topping made the santa hat. Tiny candies left from Christmas cookie decorating in years past rounded out the look. Micah cut apart pancakes to make wings, beaks and feet. The kids thought their pancakes were just adorable.

Day 6: Nutella Stuffed Pancakes
Lily and I made these special for my mom. Nutella is tasty and making the stuffed pancakes isn’t too hard following the directions to first freeze the Nutella disks. To prep the filling, first heat up your Nutella for just a few second in the microwave to make it easier to spoon onto parchment paper. Make sure you chose a baking sheet that will fit in your freezer both length and width! When adding the Nutella disks to the pancakes, we found it easier to use tongs and flip the disks upside down when putting it on the pancake batter. They warm up quickly and become quite sticky.

Day 7: Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes
We had a VERY busy day and ended the day with friends, a movie and pancakes. Had to fit those in a some point today! These are tasty and very hearty pancakes! The pictures don’t do them justice. The recipe called for whole wheat flour, and that is what I used. I don’t know how different they would be with regular flour. These filling pancakes had a good flavor and didn’t need any extra flare to be a good pancake.
Here is the recipe:https://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/brown-sugar-oatmeal-panca…/

Day 8: Mini German Pancakes
I chose this recipe because it was a twist on a recipe I’ve used before. Just like a German Pancake, this was a very simple recipe and the result was tasty. These cute little pancakes were made in a muffin tin. While my pancakes didn’t rise evenly, they still tasted good. Filled with three different jams: apricot, red currant, and blueberry. A few tips I’ll share from my mistakes. The recipe calls for the muffin pan to be well greased. A little grease goes a long way. Also, my when I filled my pan almost half full, they spilled over. I don’t know if it was too much grease, too much batter or a combination of the two but my first batch made mess. So the second time I lightly greased the pan and only filled each well about 1/3 full. If anyone has any tips on why my pancaked didn’t rise evenly, please share. Both batches rose quite oddly.
Here is the recipe:https://www.justapinch.com/…/mini-german-pancakes-made-in-m…

Day 9: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
I chose these pancakes for day 9 because I knew we’d be traveling back 7.5 hours home. I pre-made the cinnamon sauce and cream cheese topping. After making a pancake batter, I warmed the filling and topping up just a little so they would spread. To make the nice swirl I used a squirt bottle and after cooking both sides of the pancake I traces the grooves with the cinnamon sauce again. After traveling back home these pancakes were a tasty dessert for the kids. One problem: we didn’t have enough milk left for extra batches and the kids wanted more of these!
Here is the recipe:https://life-in-the-lofthouse.com/cinnamon-roll-pancakes

Day 10: Savory Bacon, Cheddar, Green Onion Pancakes
These pancakes were a.m.a.z.i.n.g! We ate a late lunch after church today and these pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs and hash browns were perfect! Honestly, I had worried that these would be a flop with our kids… but they were BIG fans of these pancakes! Actually, I though there was no way I would like these pancakes. I was very wrong. These had a unique flavor but I mean that in the best way possible. We put a dollop of sour cream on top and that was just perfect. I’m not sure if that sounds good to you or not, but trust me and give them a try!
Here is the recipe:http://www.lifetasteslikefood.com/…/savory-bacon-cheddar-a…/

Day 11: Apple Dipper Pancakes
I made bacon Dipper Pancakes last year and thought I’d try something similar. Make sure you have fresh apples otherwise the process of peeling, coring and slicing them will leave you with fragile apple slices (I speak from experience!) Some of the pancake batter wasn’t fully cooked in the center near the apple slice. Placing the cooked pieces into the oven in a covered dish at 185 for about 10 minutes finished the cooking process. If you click on the recipe link you will see a picture that looks nothing like our pancakes. I’m not sure what they did as theirs doesn’t even look like it was coated in pancake batter. These are good, the kids wanted more. I’m just not a fan of making “pancake dippers.” It is nice for something of a different variety but in all they seem like a lot of work. I’ve thought of a few ways that would make them easier but didn’t give it a try yet.
Here is the recipe:https://www.delish.com/…/a500…/apple-pancake-dippers-recipe/

Day 12: Hotteok (Korean Sweet Pancakes)
For the finale, these did not disappoint and a double batch was not enough for the Narrawaggles. This recipe takes more prep time than your average pancake but it was still a simple, tasty, and satisfying pancake. Here is where I wish you could smell and taste these! They were GOOD! We sprinkled a little cinnamon-sugar on top and that was perfect. Without a doubt I think you should try these! Using yeast this recipe is like making bread/rolls in many ways but at the same time they are still easy to make.
Here is the recipe:https://mykoreankitchen.com/korean-sweet-pancakes/

What pancakes rank in your top 4 from this year? What recipe do you think you’ll try? Stop back and leave a comment/picture if you do!

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4 thoughts on “the 12 days of pancakes”

Hi Jillian. Taste of Home has a recipe for orange ricotta pancakes that I made for our Christmas breakfast this year. They were delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipes and stories. Give Ellie a hug from me.

Jillene, all your pancakes look absolutely yummy! I used to make upside down pineapple cakes for my Papa, so will definitely give that recipe a try. But the Nutella stuffed pancakes & oreo ones would make delectable desserts. What a fun way to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas! Thanks for this amazing post! 🎉🌟🥞🌟🎉